JUNE 12, 2017.

A tight, nervy run chase on the final day of a hard-fought County Championship clash at Taunton.

Somerset, chasing 262 to beat Yorkshire and secure a first victory of the season, overcome an early wobble and are on the brink of victory with one wicket left.

With just four runs needed, Jamie Overton drives into the off-side, Karl Carver claims a low catch and Somerset remain winless in the relegation zone.

Fast forward exactly 12 months to the day and Somerset are again embroiled in a potentially tricky chase on home soil.

This time 248 is the target, Nottinghamshire are the opponents, and the incentive is the top of the Division One table.

Again they have a wobble and, when James Hildreth falls from the final ball before tea, the hosts still need 85.

The Somerset side of 2018, however, are playing with a verve and confidence that was missing this time last year, and captain Tom Abell and Steve Davies make light work of the target.

The pair play their shots all around the wicket - Abell even bringing out the reverse sweep - and require less than 17 overs to knock off the runs and lift Somerset to the summit.

Abell said afterwards that “it is difficult to put your finger on why it has turned around”, but his relentless positivity has helped him blossom into a fine leader of the in-form side, so much so that Somerset’s only defeats in all competitions this season have come when the 24-year-old has been absent through injury.

Of course, his form with the bat helps. At the start of last season Abell was struggling for runs and, when reflecting on his first season in charge, admitted the defeat against Yorkshire felt like “a dagger through the heart”.

Abell’s unbeaten 46 which carried Somerset home against Notts followed a first-innings 57 and took his average for the season above 42, and the form of the skipper is one of many positives to take from Somerset’s first five County Championship matches.

Matt Renshaw has been an inspired addition at the top of the order, adding quality on the pitch and humour off it - that piece of sandpaper in Cameron Bancroft’s trousers has benefited Somerset more than could have been imagined at the time.

Craig Overton is getting back to his best after a below-par start, though he will miss Somerset’s next two matches due to an England Lions call-up, and his new-ball partnership with Lewis Gregory continues to flourish.

The uncertain future of Gregory is perhaps one of the few gripes supporters can have so far.

The all-rounder is talking to other counties but a Somerset contract remains on the table and the club remain confident they can keep him.

As Abell put it this week: “Lewis is an integral part of our side and he’s an unbelievable player who anyone would want in their team.

“He’s a good friend to us all in the dressing room and he’s 100% committed to what we’re doing here. Of course we want what’s best for Lewis, and in my opinion that would be him staying at Somerset.”

Nobody is getting carried away - “there is a lot of work still to be done and a lot of cricket still to be played”, as Abell put it - and plenty of tricky tests lie in wait, starting with a trip to second-placed Surrey from Wednesday next week.

Renshaw, who has scored more First Class runs than anyone else in world cricket in 2018, will be a tough void to fill when he departs in late July, especially if Marcus Trescothick remains on the treatment table throughout August.

Dom Bess, Jack Leach and Craig Overton, meanwhile, could yet be subject to England call-ups.

For now, however, Somerset fans can bask in the glory of a rare excellent start and look ahead with optimism towards the rest of what could yet be a memorable summer.